Sacramento standout Cam Skattebo dominates NFL’s reigning Super Bowl champs
Cam Skattebo has long said that he cannot get going in a football game until he engages in contact.
The New York Giants’ flamboyant rookie running back and rising social media must-see star wants to crash into someone on the first play, or get crashed into, a trait since his youth playing days in Rio Linda. His early football days were also when Skattebo, with a helmet covering his mohawk, would borrow his brother’s shoulder pads and go hit a telephone pole.
Skattebo never lost any of his zest to compete and entertain, and the show he put on during a primetime Thursday Night Football showcase in front of a national audience vs. the defending Super Bowl champs is a continuing act. He’s been bullish, open-field elusive and prolific as a fan favorite at every step of the way to New York’s grand stage. If the Giants weren’t interesting before Skattebo took over as the lead back, then they are now thanks to No. 44.
In New York’s 34-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Skattebo rushed for three touchdowns. He rammed in for a 4-yard score and twice on 1-yard plays. Skattebo danced after one trip to the end zone and he did a backflip after his third score, which adds to the momentum of any debate as to whether he’s the steal of the 2025 NFL draft.
Skattebo was a fourth-round selection out of Arizona State and Sacramento State, where he made national headlines for his versatility and personality.
He punctuated the biggest game as a pro on the set of “Thursday Night Football,” tearing away his snug blue shirt that was soaked with sweat. He responded to analyst and former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was dared to bare skin after Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart said, “If you take it off, Skat will take it off.”
Fitzpatrick did, and then Skattebo did, with Fitzpatrick yelling “Skattebooooo!” The analyst then chest-bumped the running back.
Skattebo moments later told media that his style of play is who and what he, “Just growing up where I grew up, everybody’s tough, man.” Where he grew up is Rio Linda, on the north side of Sacramento County.
Troy Taylor was the only college coach to offer the stocky, 5-foot-7, 215-pounder a full athletic scholarship. Though he was impossible to miss in person or on film, Skattebo was viewed as too short and too slow to handle the college game. But Taylor had a hunch that Skattebo’s sheer will and love of the sport would create a competitive tone in practice and games. Taylor maximized Skattebo’s skill set — traits that Skattebo didn’t know he had, such as catching passes.
Fans at Hornet Stadium wore Skattebo’s jersey No. 4 when he did a lot of everything for the Big Sky Conference champions, including catching the ball as a receiver and throwing passing. He could also punt.
It was hard to overlook Skattebo otherwise as a prep. He rushed for 3,550 yards and 42 touchdowns as a junior in 2018, and ran for more than 300 yards in a CIF State championship game in front of an overflow crowd at Rio Linda, a community that supports its football teams. For his prep career, Skattebo rushed for 6,192 yards and 69 touchdowns, and he was The Sacramento Bee’s 2018 Offensive Player of the Year.
Skattebo rushed for 1,892 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons at Sac State, and he transferred to Arizona State following the end of the 2022 season. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy race for the top player in college football in 2024, and he’s never run harder than now as a listed 5-foot-10, 220-pounder.
Skattebo rushed 19 times for 98 yards Thursday with the three scores, giving him 341 yards and five touchdowns total on the season for the Giants, who improved to 2-4.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 9:16 PM.